Ed
Sheeran’s childhood home

I heard Ed Sheeran
when he was on Desert Island Disks
and thought what an amiable earthy chap he is. I’ve tried listening to the songs
but they’re a little a bit wishy-washy for my liking. I wondered how he’d fill
Wembley central library never mind Wembley Stadium (which he did for three
nights) but what do I know? This didn’t stop me visiting his childhood home
“West Royd” in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.

Ed lived here as a tot with his older brother and mum and dad in 1991 to
1992. He only lived here for about 18 months as his parents started an independent
art consultancy which they ran for the next 20 years. Work often took them to
London and Yorkshire was too far away (his parents and Ed now live in Suffolk;
his bro Matthew works as a composer.)

Hebden Bridge is quite hilly and this large family house sits
on one of the steep roads that takes you out of the centre. The uphill walk
rewards the walker with a decent view of the town. When I found this house on a
Sunday evening at about 8pm the front door was open and people were hanging
around in the garden. I had to wait about 20 minutes for them to go. I sat in
the car and have coffee but the milk had gone off. The curious part of me (90%
of me) though seeing the current owners as an opportunity and I thought I may
be able to get inside and take some photos but I didn’t fancy getting a black
eye. I hadn’t eaten for hours anyway and wanted to get home for chips and
vegetarian chicken nuggets.